Documenting maternal and childcare information of mothers presented to substance use treatment services: A qualitative study of reports in a clinical case register

Martha Canfield; Ashley Brown; Ashley Nelson; Johnny Downs; Gail Gilchrist; Sam Norton

doi:10.1016/j.josat.2023.208972

Documenting maternal and childcare information of mothers presented to substance use treatment services: A qualitative study of reports in a clinical case register

J Subst Use Addict Treat. 2023 Apr:147:208972. doi: 10.1016/j.josat.2023.208972. Epub 2023 Feb 10.

Authors

Martha Canfield¹, Ashley Brown², Ashley Nelson², Johnny Downs³, Gail Gilchrist⁴, Sam Norton⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Health Psychology Section, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK. Electronic address: Martha.canfield@kcl.ac.uk.
² Department of Psychology, Health Psychology Section, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
³ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
⁴ National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.
⁵ Department of Psychology, Health Psychology Section, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK; Department of Inflammation Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK.

PMID: 36804348
DOI: 10.1016/j.josat.2023.208972

Abstract

Background: Mothers compose a significant proportion of women in substance use treatment services. These women have needs that, if not addressed, can negatively impact their capacity to parent. This study explores the feasibility of using free-text notes from electronic health records (EHRs) to identify factors that impair mothers' ability to care for their children.

Method: This study is a qualitative analysis of EHRs of 50 women attending substance use services in Southeast London who were parents of dependent children (defined as mothers of children aged <18 years independent of living together). We developed a sampling stratification process to ensure an adequate volume of data were available and analyzed per case. The study identified and tested search terms. We extracted data from clinical notes and letters of communication with other services/agencies (free-text notes) using the identified search terms and conducted deductive thematic analysis.

Results: The mean number of documents per case was 92.17 (SD = 18.51). The study identified five themes with subthemes: childcare arrangements, family context, safeguarding issues, factors that might impact the treatment plan and care of the child, and communication between the health care and child welfare systems.

Conclusion: The study demonstrates a novel approach for exploring parenting-related characteristics of mothers in substance use treatment. Despite a range of maternal and childcare-related information available on EHRs, the type of treatment and support being offered to patients in response to the reported information is less well documented. Findings highlight the need for further investments in implementing effective family centered strategies within substance use services.

Keywords: Child welfare; Electronic health records; Free-text; Mothers; Qualitative analysis; Substance use treatment.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Child
Child Care*
Female
Humans
Mothers
Parents
Qualitative Research
Substance-Related Disorders* / therapy